Property tax, the biggest source of income for the Pune Municipal Corporation (PMC), is down this year.
The revenue has declined by Rs 90.30 crore in the first three months of the 2020-21 fiscal. The PMC had mopped up Rs 763.90 crore from April 1 to June 30 during 2019-20. The income has reduced to Rs 673.60 crore this year.
The number of tax payers reduced by 93,000. Property tax of 5.95 lakh properties was collected in the last financial year. But the number has gone down to 5.02 lakh, this year.
On the upside, 84,000 more tax payers paid tax online when compared to last year. The online tax payment transactions were 4.3 lakh as compared to 3.19 lakh during last fiscal’s corresponding period from April to June.
Property owners who pay the tax before May 31 get a 5% to 10% discount. The civic body offers it to encourage citizens to pay the tax in time.
This year, the standing committee of PMC extended deadline to June 30 but it did not yield much.
“The civic body had given more time to due to the unprecedented situation after the spread of coronavirus. The lockdown and restrictions on venturing out had led to reduction in offline transactions. So, we gave additional time,” Hemant Rasane, chairman of the standing committee, said.
According to civic officials, the property tax is charged on the basis of the annual rateable value of the property. The civic body gives offline as well as online modes of payment.
The closure of citizens facilitation centres (CFCs) at the ward offices was among the reasons for a decline in number offline transactions.